Blog
New Video: Why I Wrote “Blind in One Eye”
Posted on April 1st, 2013 by David R. Ford
In this new video, I talk about my reasons for writing Blind in One Eye, and about learning to see the realities — and possibilities — in the story that enveloped me when I began to look for my birth family: http://player.vimeo.com/video/61574128
New Video: Revealing Stories from “Blind in One Eye”
Posted on March 31st, 2013 by David R. Ford
Here’s a new video in which I discuss two of the stories from Blind in One Eye that reveal a lot about what it would have been like to grow up with my birth family: http://player.vimeo.com/video/61574127
New Video: Looking for, and Being Found by, My Birth Family
Posted on March 30th, 2013 by David R. Ford
In this new video from my friends at Mind&Media, I talk about being spurred to look for the brother I’d never met — and being found by a sister I didn’t know I had: http://player.vimeo.com/video/61574129
New Video: Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates
Posted on March 28th, 2013 by David R. Ford
In an earlier post I talked about the need to give adoptees access to their “Original Birth Certificates” — the ones with their birth parents’ names on them. Despite some movement toward granting access, three-quarters of all U.S. states still prohibit adoptees from signing these accurate documents, giving us only the certificates that identify our adoptive parents. My friends at Mind&Media (www.mindandmedia.com) have helped me produce a video on the issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOb70vGEPQA&feature=player_embedded
Blind in One Eye Featured on the Frankie Boyer Show
Posted on November 28th, 2011 by David R. Ford
My memoir was recently featured on the Frankie Boyer radio show:
http://frankieboyer.typepad.com/blog/2011/10/index.html
Interesting questions from a very good interviewer. The topic of being found by — and then integrating into — a swarm of siblings always seems to strike a chord, even with those who have no experience with adoption.
“Blind in One Eye” Featured on Jordan Rich Show
Posted on June 25th, 2011 by David R. Ford
I had the pleasure of being interviewed about my book on the Jordan Rich Show last Saturday. Click on the link to hear the audio:
Father’s Day Can Be a Strange Time for Adoptees
Posted on June 3rd, 2011 by David R. Ford
Father’s Day can be a strange time for adopted kids. Even those of us who were raised by wonderful adoptive parents may still harbor strong feelings—even if it’s just curiosity—about our unseen birth fathers. In my case I found my birth mother later in life and had a long, complicated relationship with her. And yet her husband of more than 50 years (who was my biological father) steadfastly refused to have any contact with me or the other three children they gave up for adoption. He died without giving us the chance to understand him, and the shadow that hangs permanently over him leaves me with bittersweet thoughts on Father’s Day.
New Review of Blind in One Eye
Posted on May 28th, 2011 by David R. Ford
Thanks very much to Maria’s Space for the thoughtful review of my memoir, Blind in One Eye: http://reesspace.blogspot.com/2011/05/blind-in-one-eye-by-david-r-ford.html. She offers an interesting perspective, as a mother who wonders how another mother could give up any of her children.
Birth Mothers Who Want to Meet The Children They Gave Up
Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by David R. Ford
As an advocate for adoptees’ rights to access their original birth certificates (the ones that show the names of the birth parents), I’ve had the chance to talk to birth mothers and learn more about organizations that support them in their efforts to connect with their birth children. My informal study of the issue tells me that most birth mothers have a strong interest in knowing how things turned out for the kids they gave up, and would encourage some level of contact with their adult birth children. That’s not to say that they are looking for a full relationship with the adoptees, but that they would at least welcome contact from their birth children.
Do You Have a Story of Looking For a Sibling?
Posted on April 22nd, 2011 by David R. Ford
Have you discovered a sibling (or half-sibling) out there, someone your parents kept secret from you? As a kid, for whatever reason, I wasn’t so interested in finding my birth parents. Maybe it was something along the lines of, “They weren’t interested in me, so why should I be interested in them?” But I was very interested in finding my older brother from the first day I learned that he existed.
I would love to hear from any adoptees who were spurred on to begin their searches by the knowledge (or hope) that they had siblings somewhere out there.